Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1887-02-18
TlG Interstate Commerce Bill
As APPROVED BY THE PRESIDENT.

Congress, in its first section appheS
the provisions of the act to any
common carrier engaged IN the
transportation of passengers wholly
bv railroad, or partly 10y railroad
and partly by water when both are
used. under a common control, man
agement, or arrangement through
mo re than one State or Territory,
or from any place IN the United
States to an adjacent foreign coun'
try. 1t defines the term "rallroad"
to include all bridges and ferries
used or operated by any railroad
! All charges made for any service
rendered in the transportation OF
passengers or property shall be
reasonable and just and every un'
lust and unreasonable charge for
such service is prohibited and de-
L
clared to be unlawful.
Section . makes it unlawful for
anv common carrier, subject to the
provisions of this act, to charge,
demand, collect, or receive, direct
ly or indirectly, from any person or
persons, a greater or less compen.
satlon for any service rendered in
the transportation of passengers or
property than 1t charges, demands,
collects, or receives from any other
person or persons tor doing for him
or them a like and cOtempOraneous
service in the transportation of a
like kind of traffic under substan-
tally similar circumstances and
conditions.
Section 3 makes it unlawful for
any common carrier, subject to the
provisions of this act, to make or
give any undue or unreasonable
preference or advantage to any par
ticular person, company, firm, cor
poration, or locality, or any partlc-
ular description of traffic. Every
common carrier, subject to the pro
visions of this act, shall, according
to their respective powers, afford all
reasonable, proper, and equal facil'
tiles for the interchange of traffic
between their respective lines, and
for the receiving, forwarding, and
delivering of passengers and prop
erty to and from their several lines
and those connecting Herewith,
and shall not discriminate in their
rates and charges between such
connecting lines.
Section 4 provides that it shall
be unlawful for any common car
rier, subject to the provisions of
this act, to charge or receive any
greater compensation in the aggre'
gate for the transportation of pas
sengers, or of like kind of property,
under substantially similar circum'
stances and conditions, for short
er than for a longer distance over
the same line, in the same direc-
ton, the shorter being included
within the longer distance; but this
shall not be construed as authOriz-
ing any common carrier, within the
terms of this act, to charge and re-
ceive as great compensation for a
shorter as for a longer distance
provided, however. that upon ap-
picatiOn to the commission appoint
ed under the provisions of this act
such common carrier may, in special
cases, after investigation by the
commission, be authorized to charge
less for longer than for shorter dis
tances, for the transportation of
passengers or propertyj and the
commission may from time to time
preserve the extent to which such
designated common carrier may be
relieved from the operation of this
section of this act.
Section 3 provides that it shall
be unlawful for any common car
rier, subject to the provisions of
this act, to enter into any contract,
agreement, or combination with any
other common carrier or carriers for
the pooling of freights of different
and competing railroads, or to di-
vide between them the aggregate
or net proceeds of the earnings Of
such railroads, or any portion there
of; and in any case of an agree
ment for the pooling of freights, as
aforesaid, each day of its continu.
ance shall be deemed a separate
| Offense.
Section G requires that after 90
days from the passage of this act
every common carrier, subject to its
provisions, shall have printed and
keep tor public inspection schedules
showing such rates, fares, and
charges, aud in addition to requir-
| ing the railroads to give publicity
at all of the depots on their several
| lines, 1t gives authority to the CON-
mission, where it is proper and nee
essary, to require them to give pub
licity to their rates TO other places
beyond the lines of their several
railroads. 1t also provides that
the rates, fares, and charges shall
not be raised except after 10 days
of public notice, but that they may
be reduced without previous public
notice; the notice, however, shall
be simultaneous with the reduction
itself.
Section Z makes il unlawful fol
any common carrier to enter into